Chapter 38: Be a Human Being, Not a Ghost!

Bing Shangxue also gave a wry, gentle smile and said, "Fang Che, simply put, no matter which aspect of your foundational cultivation you pursue, it is outstanding. Furthermore, without needing any period of adjustment, your meridians automatically transform toward the absolute perfect direction."

"In other words, if you choose the saber, as you practice the saber, your meridian aptitude and natural bones will correspondingly transform into an innate Dao bone and a congenital saber physique. It is the absolute, most extreme physique for practicing the saber!"

"The same goes for practicing the sword."

"If you practice the spear, your entire body will naturally and automatically evolve into that indomitable, razor-sharp momentum."

"After evaluating and analyzing you—spending a full three days compiling your cultivation progress over this period—we discovered..."

Bing Shangxue's gaze burned brightly: "You are actually dabbling in all four of the kingly weapons: saber, spear, sword, and halberd!"

Fang Che's heart shook.

He abruptly raised his head.

He truly had not expected the insight of these four instructors to be so piercingly sharp!

He was only just starting out, having begun practicing the saber, spear, sword, and halberd according to the four weapon cultivation methods attached to the Boundless True Scripture not long ago.

Moreover, he had not displayed any obvious signs.

Yet these four instructors managed to deduce this through the analysis of his various behaviors.

One must know that even Fang Che himself, or experts at a much higher realm than his past life self, would be utterly unable to detect this under the concealment of such a perfect cultivation technique as the Boundless True Scripture!

He could only marvel that gold-medal instructors were indeed gold-medal instructors!

The saying that every trade has its master was truly profound.

"Saber, spear, sword, and halberd—the top four of the Cloud Realm Weapon Codex."

At this mention, Li Changkong's expression dimmed slightly.

As everyone knew, the ranking of the four kingly weapons had now changed to spear, saber, sword, and halberd.

Duan Xiyang of the Cult of the Condemned, wielder of the Bone-Piercing Dream-Shattering Spear, had already risen to the number one spot.

The Emotion-Slaying Saber had dropped to second.

The mere thought of this felt like a massive boulder pressing down on his chest.

Li Changkong gathered his composure before continuing, "The four kingly weapons are difficult to master. Therefore, our suggestion is to choose one and specialize in it."

Fang Che frowned. "You mean..."

"Based on our evaluation of your aptitude, if you devote yourself entirely to the martial Dao, aiming straight for the starry firmament with a single-minded focus..."

Li Changkong's lips moved, but he stopped short of speaking further.

Duan Zhongliu, Bing Shangxue, and Bao Feiyu all signaled with their eyes for him not to continue.

Yet, after a moment of hesitation, Li Changkong still said, "If you give it your all, below the Martial Venerable realm... you can concurrently master... two to three."

Fang Che frowned and nodded silently.

"However, at higher realms, you must specialize in your true destined weapon."

Li Changkong said solemnly, "Although none of us have reached that realm, we can deduce it through theory. For example, seniors like Duan Xiyang of the Dream-Shattering Spear and Xue Fuxiao of the Emotion-Slaying Saber... when they reach that level, they have already returned to simplicity."

"A spear is a spear, and a saber is a saber."

"If you observe their combat head-on, it might seem no different from the moves of an ordinary martial master; however, the various grand trends of heaven and earth, various spatial turbulence currents, and various vortexes contained within... completely neutralize one another."

"To put it more clearly, do you really think that seniors like Xue Fuxiao and Duan Xiyang only know how to use the saber throughout their lives? Or only know the spear, and nothing else? That's impossible, right? Their attainments in other weapons must also have reached the pinnacle of perfection!"

"However, if Duan Xiyang were to fight Xue Fuxiao using a saber, then Xue Fuxiao, wielding the Emotion-Slaying Saber, could defeat Duan Xiyang in as few as three moves!"

"In other words, if Xue Fuxiao were to fight Duan Xiyang using a spear, then Duan Xiyang, wielding the Dream-Shattering Spear, could kill Xue Fuxiao in a single move!"

"Do you understand this?" Li Changkong asked.

"I understand!" Fang Che said slowly. "Thank you, Instructor."

***

"What do you understand?"

"I understand that even with thousands of grand paths before me, only one path truly belongs to me," Fang Che said slowly.

"Yes." A gratified smile appeared on Li Changkong's face.

"Therefore, we do not object to your concurrent cultivation, but you must choose one to be your true destiny!"

"And as for this, you must decide for yourself without needing to tell us. For example, if you choose the saber while concurrently practicing the spear, sword, and halberd, you can usually use the sword in daily life, keeping the other two concurrent paths as your hidden trump cards. Yet, no one will know that your saber is the ultimate fatal blow!"

"The same applies if you change your destined weapon to another."

"And this can remain your own secret—none of the four of us need to know."

Li Changkong said solemnly, "Remember, it is a secret that belongs to you alone."

Fang Che nodded repeatedly.

Bing Shangxue bit her lip and added, "Fang Che, you must remember one phrase."

Fang Che asked, "What phrase?"

"The jianghu is treacherous; it is him or me! Once the destined weapon is drawn, it is a fight to the death!"

Bing Shangxue bit her lip and whispered these sixteen characters, which almost bordered on a taboo.

"You must keep the secret to yourself! No matter who you face!"

Fang Che's expression turned serious. "I will remember it!"

He stood up, bowed deeply, and saluted: "Thank you, four instructors!"

Bing Shangxue and the others smiled with gratification.

This method of concurrent cultivation with a trump card and hiding one's destined weapon was the most perfect path of cultivation, yet very few were capable of achieving it.

Everyone knew that permanently concealing one's lethal trump card was always the optimal martial Dao.

However, not everyone possessed an aptitude as astonishingly brilliant as this.

So-called trump cards and last resorts usually had to be pulled out to save one's life when one's strength fell short of the opponent's.

Yet once pulled out and exposed, they ceased to be trump cards.

Not everyone possessed Fang Che's talent.

It was simply too difficult!

Even acknowledged geniuses like Mo Gangyun and Ding Zheran were utterly incapable of achieving concurrent cultivation of trump cards while concealing a destined fatal weapon.

"However, you must also remember that the so-called trump card and lethal last resort are only ever applicable before reaching the Martial Venerable realm!"

"Once you cross that threshold, almost every opponent you encounter possesses the Eye of Inception. At that level, hiding your strength and holding back a last resort becomes nothing more than a joke. It is very easy to be counter-killed by an opponent inferior to yourself. As long as the other party is fast enough, you won't even have the chance to use your lethal blow before being killed."

"Yes, Student remembers it!"

"Of course, that realm is far away from you—even we are far from reaching it; I merely mention it in advance. When you truly reach that level, you will naturally remember it. At that realm, towards any enemy of whom you are not completely certain, you must always abide by one rule: Even a lion uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit."

"I am merely planting these words in your mind ahead of time. When you reach that stage, you will naturally recall them," Li Changkong said gently.

A surge of respect rose in Fang Che's heart.

This gold-medal instructor, who claimed never to take personal disciples and acted only as an instructor rather than a master, was teaching his student a survival guide meant for centuries later.

He had considered his student's needs even a thousand years into the future.

"Thank you, Instructor! Fang Che will engrave your teachings in his heart for the rest of his life."

Bing Shangxue stepped forward, helped Fang Che up, gently straightened his collar and lapels, and spoke softly, "Fang Che, you are a good student. Teacher only hopes that in this lifetime... you will not fail your youth, nor fail your existence as a human being. No matter the time, the environment, or the place, always remember..."

She paused for a moment and whispered softly, "Be a human being, never be a ghost!"

***

"Be a human being, never be a ghost!"

Fang Che repeated it under his breath, deeply moved.

The four instructors knew very well that his identity was suspicious, yet their feelings toward their student had not changed in the slightest.

If anything, they were even more passionate.

They were striving hard to help their students walk the correct path. When they discovered signs of students straying or making mistakes, their very first reaction was to pull them back with all their might!

Even if they exerted all their strength and still failed to pull them back, they would still leave a trace of beautiful emotional bonds in the student's heart, preventing them from being entirely devoured by ugliness.

Fang Che understood completely.

Therefore, he was sincerely touched.

"Be a human being, never be a ghost—Student has memorized it. I will never forget it for all eternity!"

Fang Che promised solemnly.

Li Changkong smiled, breaking the heavy atmosphere. He did not want Fang Che to develop a rebellious sense of 'being lectured' because of Bing Shangxue's words.

That kind of mindset could be fatal.

Therefore, some topics were best touched upon lightly and passed over.

"Fang Che, you cultivate the saber, spear, sword, and halberd because of the four supreme experts of the Cloud Realm Weapon Codex, correct?" Li Changkong asked.

"Yes."

Such a matter was far too obvious; there was no point in denying it.

"Then do you know why the Cloud Realm Weapon Codex is merely the Cloud Realm Weapon Codex, and not the Cloud Realm Expert Rankings?" Li Changkong asked with gleaming eyes.

"Ah? There is such a distinction?"

Fang Che was genuinely surprised.

This was the first time in both his past and present lives that he had ever heard of such a theory.

"That is naturally the case. The Cloud Realm Weapon Codex merely ranks weapon attainments, selecting the most outstanding representatives for each weapon to place on the codex. However, an expert ranking has never been successfully compiled to this day. This is because no one can accurately gauge the power of every single expert. Especially given the vastness of the world, there are too many hermits living in seclusion, and too many experts who are rarely seen throughout their lifetimes, let alone having crossed paths in combat."

"Therefore... the Cloud Realm Weapon Codex alone proves nothing."

"For instance, our Protectors—the founding seniors who established the Protectors back then are still alive and well."

"And the Cult of the Condemned—the old demons who established the sect back then are also still around. Even if you know nothing else, surely you know at least one thing: every sect must have a sect master, right? Duan Xiyang of the Bone-Piercing Dream-Shattering Spear, is he the sect master?"

Fang Che felt as though his mind had been struck by a sudden thunderbolt: "No."

"Then why is the wielder of the Bone-Piercing Dream-Shattering Spear not the sect master?"

Li Changkong asked.

"Because he is not as strong as the sect master!"

Fang Che exhaled a breath.

This question was so obvious, yet he had never thought of it before.

Countless people across the world universally acknowledged Duan Xiyang, wielder of the Bone-Piercing Dream-Shattering Spear, as the number one expert of the Cult of the Condemned.

Yet they had all overlooked the fact that the Cult of the Condemned must inevitably have a sect master.

And this sect master must undoubtedly be an entity surpassing Duan Xiyang, powerful enough to make Duan Xiyang submit obediently and bow in allegiance!

Li Changkong sighed softly, "Yes, that is why Duan Xiyang of the Bone-Piercing Dream-Shattering Spear is merely the First Seat of the Cult of the Condemned."

Fang Che spoke in a slightly strained voice, "Who is the sect master of the Cult of the Condemned? Does Instructor know?"